1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for controlling progress of a video game including a match-up with (or a battle against) an enemy character by displaying a player character operated by a player on a display screen, and particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for controlling progress of a video game suitable to an arcade game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various kinds of arcade game apparatuses have been proposed that are installed in a public space such as a video game arcade, and the arcade game apparatuses are used in the public space.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-068197 (hereinafter, referred to as “Patent Literature 1”) discloses that progress of a video game is up the tempo (or accelerated) by allowing a player to carry out a selection operation only in an important scene in such an arcade game apparatus.
Patent Literature 1 raises a problem that a play time becomes elongated depending upon judgment or determination of a player and decision of the player does not reflect a video game result at all in a sports game that includes a “reproduction mode” in which a result of actual sports such as professional baseball is reproduced as an animated film and a “simulation mode” in which the player run the show as a coach (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-347074). Further, Patent Literature 1 discloses that a coin-operated (professional-use) match-up simulation game machine causes a simulation game (video game) to automatically proceed in accordance with a video game program; suspends (or stops temporarily) progress of the video game when to reach an important scene that a progress status of the video game satisfies a predetermined condition; allows the player to alternatively select a course on the progress of the video game during a suspended period of time; and restarts the simulation game in response to the course selection by the player. By configuring the video game in such a manner, the problem that has occurred in the prior art is solved by Patent Literature 1.
However, in the arcade game apparatus described above, a creator of the video game requests an instruction by the player in a scene that the creator thinks as a “scene highly influencing future development of the video game”. For that reason, variation of the content of the video game has limitations. Further, there has been a problem that interest of the player, who thinks that the video game is caused to proceed by operating a controller or the like by oneself as much as possible, in progress of the video game may wane if there is no choice such as whether the video game is set to automatic progress or not.